EU examines Microsoft promise for open formats

23 May 2008, 9:29am

EU examines Microsoft promise for open document format support

On 22 May, EU regulators said they would study Microsoft Corp.'s announcement that its software update next year will work with rival document formats to see if it would allow customers to use a wider range of software. The European Commission is again investigating whether Microsoft has illegally refused to supply competitors with information they need to make products compatible with Microsoft Windows - the operating system used by most computers worldwide. This possibility of further fines comes on the heels of EU antitrust action against Microsoft, which resulted in the company handing over US$2.63 billion (euro1.7 billion) in penalties.

Microsoft said Wednesday that it would start allowing Office 2007 users to save files in the OpenDocument Format, or ODF, when it releases a service pack 2 update in the first half of 2009 and set ODF as a default storage format. The EU's executive arm said it had ''taken note'' of the announcement and ''would welcome any step that Microsoft took toward genuine interoperability, more consumer choice and less vendor lock-in.'' The ODF Alliance said it was sceptical of Microsoft's promise of support for ODF, saying the proof would be whether the support would equal to that offered to OOXML.

ECIS (the European Committee for Interoperable Systems) represents IBM, Nokia Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., RealNetworks Inc. and Oracle Corp. among others. They prompted the EU's new probe by complaining about OOXML shutting out ODF. Despite numerous complaints, Microsoft’s OOXML was approved as an international standard in April, which permits it to be chosen by IT departments of governments and large organisations.
Microsoft's continues its antitrust battle with Brussels after its appeal in May against a 899 million euro (US$ 1.3 billion) fine the European Commission imposed in February 2008 because the company failed to obey a 2004 antitrust order telling it to open up more to rivals.

Source: based on Associated Press release, 22 May 2008, as reported in MIT Technolocy Review online newsletter.

www.technologyreview.com/Wire/20818/?nli…

Geo: International